A white hat hacker is generally an ethical computer security specialist, or an ethical hacker, who specialises in penetration testing, reverse engineering and other investigation techniques that ensure an organisation’s data systems safety. While white hat stands for “white-hat”, this type of hacker would not carry out any attacks that are harmful to the network or to the users. An example of a white hat hacker could be a member of the antivirus industry, for whom ethical hacking is important, for example, to develop patches that fix vulnerabilities that may be exploited by hackers. Another example of a white hat hacker could be a software engineer, whose job is to test and debug the various software programs developed by the software development companies. The developers of these programs would usually work in their own interests and the interests of their employers, and so there might be situations where an employee of the software developing company could compromise these programs. This is called “hacking” in the software world.
A popular logo used by ethical hackers is the skull and crossbones. It represents a way of thinking about computer security that goes beyond the normal. A white hat hacker is someone who can achieve results without having to resort to illegal methods – they are one who practices what they preach. The skull and crossbones infographic are a perfect illustration of this position of an ethical hacker.
If you want to protect your organisation’s confidential information and systems from the attacks of hackers and cyber-criminals, then you should train your employees to become white-hat hackers. You should encourage your employees to educate others in the field, in order to build a worldwide community of white hat hackers. The information security industry is currently facing some serious issues with the growth of cyber crime and the growth of internet threats. Only by working together can we reduce the threat and increase the safety of our valuable information.